About Us

Since 1999, International Studies Institutes (ISI Abroad) has worked with a number of top-tier US and international colleges and universities to provide students with affordable, safe, inclusive, and rewarding study abroad experiences.

ISI Abroad currently directly operates two institutions of higher learning in Italy: The Umbra Institute in Perugia (since 1999) and the International Studies Institute in Florence (since 2001). It also offers an online division for the Institute’s most-popular academic programs and courses, ISI Abroad Online.

Our Mission

ISI Abroad’s mission is to guide students through their study abroad experience in ways that promote exploration and an embrace of new cultures and experiences; promoting a desire in students for life-long learning and encouraging (and assessing the acquisition of) essential skills in intercultural competencies. Our student-centered and community-facing programs give students ample opportunity for immersion and co-curricular activities that invite students to consider how their education complements their career ambitions.

At ISI programs, students don’t just live in a neighborhood: they engage with their local communities. Our two locations offer courses with service learning components, academic internships, seminar and practicums, volunteer programs, independent research, and other activities that bring our students together with the local Italian student population and the community at large. We strive to connect our community with the city of Perugia through curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular community engagement initiatives. After studying at the Umbra Institute, students consistently say these are the experiences that had the greatest most meaningful impact on their time abroad.

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Our Academic Programs

Both Institutes have courses in a broad range of disciplines but also have curricular concentrations carefully designed by experienced educators: Florence offers a Media & Communications Studies Program as well as STEM options (Physics and Biology); in Perugia, students can earn a certificate in Food & Sustainability Studies or Multicultural Psychology. Just as the Institutes offer a diverse range of courses, they also both actively encourage a student body from diverse backgrounds: ISI works with its US partners to encourage historically less represented minority students to study abroad, and also has shorter-term and cutting edge online programs for a range of financial needs.